1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content transfer system, an information processing apparatus, a transfer method, and a program, in particular, to those that allow content to be transferred in a file format and at a bit rate optimum to a reproduction terminal to which the content is transferred.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, mobile phones having a hard disk or a flash memory have been widespread in a music listening style.
The user can listen to music with his or her mobile phone in such a manner that he or she rips a music track file from a music CD (Compact Disc) or downloads it from a predetermined site through the Internet to a personal computer and then transfers the music track file to the mobile phone.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a content transfer of related art.
FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone 1 as an exemplary portable device (PD) that is a music track file transfer target. The mobile phone 1 is a PD having a music reproducing function. The mobile phone 1 is connected to the PC to which the user has ripped music track files through a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. The user selects a music track to be transferred to the mobile phone 1 on a screen displayed by a music management application that operates on the PC.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, the file formats and bit rates of music track files have been set to the music management application for each category of PDs as transfer targets. The default file format and bit rate of music track files transferred to mobile phones are defined as HE-AAC (High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding) and 48 kbps, respectively. The file format HE-AAC and bit rate 48 kbps have been used as a file format and a bit rate of music track files that can be reproduced by many mobile phones.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, when a music track file to be transferred to the mobile phone has been ripped in the MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3) file format to the PC, as represented by a white arrow Al, the music track file is converted into a music track file having a file format of HE-AAC and a bit rate of 48 kbps by the music management application and then the converted music track file is transferred to the mobile phone 1 as represented by a white arrow A2.
When the user selects a music track file to be transferred and commands the PC to start transferring the selected music track file to the mobile phone 1, the PC automatically converts the selected music track file into a music track file to be transferred on the basis of the settings of the music management application without necessity to set the file format and the bit rate.
When necessary, the user can change the settings of the format and bit rate of a file to be converted on the basis of the grade of the music reproduction function of the mobile phone, user's desired music quality, and so forth. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the user has changed the file format and bit rate of a music track file to be transferred to AAC-LC (Advanced Audio Coding-Low Complexity) and 128 kbps, respectively. When the user has changed the settings of the file format and bit rate of a music track file to be converted, the settings of the file format and bit rate that he or she has changed are prioritized against the default settings and are used when a music track file is converted.
Thus, in the music management application that operates on the PC, the file format and bit rate of a music track file are set on the basis of the category of a PD as a transfer target. For example, when a mobile phone is a transfer target, “the file format and bit rate are set to HE-AAC and 48 kbps, respectively” and when a music reproduction-only PD is a transfer target, “the file format and bit rate are set to ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (OpenMG) and 64 kbps, respectively”.
In this case, when the user has a plurality of mobile phones of different models (they can be identified by their model names that contain a predetermined number of digits, for example, “703” and “903” and that are common in mobile phones released by several manufacturers in a particular season) and their file formats and bit rates are different, it is difficult to set the file format and bit rate of a music track file to be converted on the basis of each model of the mobile phones. To solve this problem, a technology of which the file format and bit rate of a conversion target can be set on the basis of each model of PDs as one category has been proposed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a content transfer of another related art.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the file format and bit rate of a music track file are set to the music management application on the basis of the model of a mobile phone as a transfer target. The default settings of the file format and bit rate of a music track file to be transferred to a model A mobile phone are HE-AAC and 48 kbps, respectively. The default settings of the file format and bit rate of a music track file to be transferred to a model B mobile phone are AAC-LC and 128 kbps, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 2, when a model A mobile phone 1 is connected to the PC, the model name is obtained from the mobile phone 1 by the music management application. When the user commands the PC to transfer a PM3 music program to the mobile phone 1, the MP3 music track file is automatically converted into a music track file having a file format of HE-AAC and a bit rate of 48 kbps as represented by a white arrow All based on the model name obtained from the mobile phone 1 by the music management application. After the file format and bit rate of the music track file have been converted, the converted music track file is transferred from the PC to the mobile phone 1 as represented by a white arrow A12.
Thus, when the user just connects the mobile phone 1 to the PC, a music track file having a file format and a bit rate based on the model of the mobile phone 1 can be automatically transferred thereto. As a result, the user can listen to music with the mobile phone 1.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-123265 (referred to as patent document 1) discloses a music track file transfer system as shown in FIG. 2.